Small Budget, Big Wedding: Top Tips for Cutting Costs, Not Memories

Nowadays, weddings are far more expensive than they ever used to be. With the average wedding now costing over $26,000, many couples wanting to tie the knot find themselves anxious and worried about how their finances will cope.

Weddings are typically a very expensive thing to organize, simply because of the elements involved. Wedding dress, bridesmaid’s dresses, flowers, venue, catering… the list goes on. However, if you’re smart and cut costs at every available corner, your wedding can still be big and extravagant without the extortionate price tag.

It’s a common misconception that you either have to save for years, or already have a huge chunk of disposable money available in order to have a beautiful wedding. In fact, the average couple feel forced to stay engaged for at least three years, simply because they’re led to believe that’s how long they’ll need to save enough money. This couldn’t be further from the truth, and if you keep reading you’ll discover some top tips to ensure you achieve the wedding of your dreams at a fraction of the average cost.

Buy pre-owned dresses

Almost every bride has her ideal wedding dress in mind. Since the majority of wedding dresses are bought specifically for the wedding and nothing else, they’re only worn once and put away once the big day is over. So, when looking to cut costs, purchasing pre-owned wedding dresses is a great way to start for a number of reasons.

Any second-hand wedding dress is likely to have only been worn once, meaning it’s going to be in excellent condition and almost as good as new! And, since every bride has her own individual taste of what she wants her wedding dress to be, there will be a huge variety of second-hand dresses to choose from, almost like being in a store. No one on your big day would be able to notice you were wearing a second-hand dress so, if you choose to keep it to yourself, everyone would think your dress was completely new.

To get inspiration to get you started, check out preownedweddingdresses.com where you’ll discover an excellent variety of dresses that will cater to everyone. The bride, bridesmaids and even mother of the bride are all covered, giving your guests the option to cut costs too if they wish.

Skip unnecessary extras

These days, the added extras associated with weddings are extraordinary. Often including ‘save the date’ cards, table favors for each guest, personalized napkins and even ceremony programs, these added extras have the potential to rack up thousands of dollars.

Whilst elements like flowers and name cards for seating are pretty essential, any other added extras are often completely unnecessary and a waste of money. The best way to establish what you really need for your big day and what you don’t, is to ask yourself this for each item: ‘if I don’t include it, will my day be any different?’

It’s highly unlikely that your day will suffer if you skip these small extras, and your guests won’t even notice or realize they’re not there should you choose to leave them out.

Cut down on transport

It’s very typical for the bride and her family to arrive at the venue, and the married couple to leave at the end, in a very extravagant vehicle such as a limousine. Whilst top-of-the-range vehicles add a touch of class to a wedding day, there are plenty of ways to cut down costs when it comes to transport to and from the big day.

Instead of jumping straight in and hiring a chauffeured vehicle, hiring the vehicle and getting a friend or relative to drive (if you don’t want to drive yourself) is a great way to save money. No matter which vehicle you choose, opting for a chauffeured option is always going to be more expensive than simply hiring a vehicle for the day, so it’s best to save money where you can.

Or, if you genuinely aren’t bothered about how you arrive/leave your venue, don’t use an expensive vehicle just because you feel you have to. When organizing a wedding on a budget, it’s essential to save money in areas that aren’t much of a high priority so, if ‘arriving in style’ isn’t top of your list, don’t waste your money!

Whilst weddings are notoriously expensive, it is still 100% possible to still have your dream wedding without spending a fortune. As long as you prioritize and cut costs in relevant areas, you’re guaranteed to save money without sacrificing those special memories.

Ava Webster is a wedding planner, something she has been doing for the past several years. She shares her top tips with brides-to-be around the internet through her articles.